A/N: Yes, the furries have swords. Otherwise, how would they defend themselves? O.o And YES they CAN channel (some of them). Dear me, why can't you just accept the flaming story already! Oh, and I know I haven't described Mordi yet. That's coming, have no fear! Oh (again), and I needed a villain, so I used Grendels from C2, named Locs. e.e Heheh. Bear with me on the purity of the WoT stuff. I use furries because I cannot bear to draw humans, and since I draw all my story chars, I used furries. Plus, furries are just so much more fun. The units of measurement are equal to meters: 400 strides are equal to 400 meters. And another thing: if you see something in here that's familiar, it's probably not mine. Except for the Ryugin, which are entirely. Don't take them. Or I'll feed you to my pet Balrog, Morgai. :)

Creeping up behind a gnarled tree, Mordi peered at Tam, Kati, and the others. Gaia had fallen back; her mother had found that she had not done her chores. Ears cocking to catch their words, she listened.

"Isn't the river beautiful, Tam?"

"Uh…"

"Oh, come on, it is, isn't it?"

"Well…I guess so."

Kati sighed, and put her hand over Tam's, wiggling her feet in the shallow water of the river's banks, where she sat with the other. Tam looked at her, though Mordi didn't catch his expression. Whatever it was, Kati's smile faltered, and then came back bigger than ever. However, the expression stopped short of her eyes.

Disgusted look plastered across her face, she fell back behind the tree once more. Eyes closed, she let out a long, slow breath.

The telltale crashing sound of a large beast approaching reached her ears. Startled, she turned.

Nearby, a stooping, scabrous creature halted momentarily to sniff the air. Its skin was a dull, scaled green; its spine was horribly disfigured, thrown upward in a hump that reared above its head. The creature's cranium held sharp angles; its lipless, fanged jaw was squarely set. Sickeningly yellow hair sprouted in an oily mohawk from its head, and its ears looked like a sick mockery of a normal furre's. Standing bowleggedly, its feet were flat and its toes were tipped with a claw each; its three-fingered hands held a curved scimitar. Ruby red eyes glanced around, elliptical pupils dilating in the low light that filtered through beneath the trees.

More crashing, and another had caught up. And another. Mordi's breath caught in her chest. If the stories told true, a living legend was standing there: a Loc. Hideous and misshapen, Locs were supposedly ruined furres, minions of the Dark leader, Bauglir. Legends. Only legends! Mordi thought frantically; but there they were, standing before her eyes. Kati and the others had not noticed.

With a cry of "Ghash nor kannagh!" the Locs suddenly charged south. After a moment, screams issued, and the drawing of swords was heard. Mordi burst from her hiding spot, racing toward the sounds of battle.

Panting, she slid to stop. Two Locs lay still on the dirt road of the village, one rodent was moaning and had a hand over his side, crimson staining his fingers while he slumped against the side of a thatch-roofed house. Five others were engaged in battle with the monstrosities, swords clanging fiercely. Backing away, she turned and ran, toward the river once more.

When she reached it, she stopped out of pure shock. There, a single Loc had cornered Tam and Kati. Chachu and Minkasho were pressed back against the wall, eyes wide. Cisare and Lisai were crying uncontrollably, at the feet of the formers.

"HEY!" Mordi shouted. A part of her was screaming to run, but as if someone else was controlling her actions, she picked up a stray stone, and hurled it at the beast. Snarling, it whirled around, waving its sword wildly. Eyes falling upon Mordi, it leaped at her, red eyes glimmering with pure hatred.

Mordi stood stock still, frozen with shock as the thing careened toward her. At the last possible moment, one of the furres that had been fighting at the village, a valiant feline, leaped from behind her, and drove his sword into the beast's chest. Eyes widening, the Loc's leap fell short, carrying it to the feet of the owner of the weapon. Ebon blood gushed from the wound, staining the ground beneath it. Moaning, its tail flopped once, and then it was still.

Touching it gingerly, the male who had slain the creature prodded it, and then gave it a hard shove to turn it over. With a sickening squelch, he pulled the sword from the creature. Nodding to Mordi, he hurried back toward the battle.

Mordi gasped and coughed, covering her nose with both hands; the dead thing was giving off a pungent odor that made a skunk seem pale by comparison. Kati broke out crying, while Chachu and Minkasho both collapsed, a hand on their chests each. Tam's eyes were wide; his hand had been wrenched from Kati's, and he was getting up. Mordi took one last look at them and the slain beast, and north. A cry was issued from Tam's throat.

"Wait!"

Mordi, however, did not wait. She ran with all her speed toward the village, a mere 400 strides away. The clatter of swords had faded.

When she reached the center of her tiny village, the wounded were already being helped to nearby houses, while a group of the males who had been fighting had set to work on dragging the carcasses of the Locs away from both village and river; no one wanted a contaminated source of water. One of them, having dragged a particularly large (and ugly) Loc toward the growing pile, Mordi recognized as the furre who had rescued her from the lone Loc.

"You were very lucky, that you were spying on your friends like that." he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Why?" Mordi asked, suspiciously.

"Because Locs kill for the pleasure of killing. They'll hew down anything in their path that moves, whether it be furre or animal, but they are not the brightest of creatures; they'll ignore all else when they've cornered something, their lust for blood is so great." Sheathing his sword, he took a step closer. "Come. We need to speak in private."

Mordi nodded silently, following the feline as her swept past her, toward one of the nearby cottages. Opening the wooden door casually, he stepped inside, Mordi following closely.

Inside, Mordi looked around. The room was well lit with oil lamps, but the only furnishings were a high-backed resting chair, an ottoman, a small table with one lonely stool, and a shelf full of weapons. In the light, Mordi could now see the winged dragon on the hilt of the other's sword. A dragon-mark blade. Light!  She shuddered. The feline pushed back the ottoman, and gestured for her to sit. She sat, frowning.

"By the way, our acquaintance was rather hasty…I am Kash." he said. As Mordi opened her mouth to speak, he quickly let out, "I already know you are called Mordi; your mother is quite loud in announcing your need to complete chores." She winced.

Kash pointed to the cord around her neck. "If I may ask, what is that? I've seen you with it ever since I moved here."

Mordi hesitated, then pulled the rest of the cord – and the ring – from within her blouse.

Kash frowned. "Where did you find that?" he asked. Expression changing to a small smile, he added, "It is quite a beautiful piece."

"Thank you." she replied.

"But really…where did you find it?"

She hesitated once more. "My mother gave it to me."

"Ah." Frowning again, Kash studied the floor. Mordi leaned forward, hands on her chin.

Immediately afterward, Mordi felt something whiz by above her head, the wind ruffling her hair a bit. Like lightning personified, Kash was up, sword drawn, and within the span of a second had decapitated whoever had been the owner of the object that had missed her head. She let out a small yelp, jumping up to see what the creature was.

It was no creature. Instead, it was an equine so ordinary-looking that Mordi doubted she would have noticed him in the street, or in a crowd. Ordinary, except for the fact that he carried a small axe in his hands, and, that his head was lying on the floor a few feet away. Kash leaned down, grabbing the muzzle of the head to look it in the eyes. Head drawing back, he pulled his hand from the gory thing; grimacing, he wiped his hand on his trousers as if it had been dirtied.

"What was that? Who was that?"

Distractedly, Kash said "A Gray Furre. They're minions of the Dark One, minions so dedicated to the Shadow that they have literally given their souls away to become his assassins. You can see it in their eyes: they have no soul, and therefore, they are also known as the Soulless." Closing his eyes, he said quietly, "I – we – have little time."

"Little time for what?" Mordi asked.

"Little time to get going. We need to get you to Eriador, as soon as possible."

Her breath caught. Eriador. The city of the Aes Sedai, those fabled ones who could channel the Power. Light! The Aes Sedai! Too many tales had been told of the things an Aes Sedai could do, and what they did with their power.

"Why?" Mordi asked.

Kash answered, "That Gray Furre…those Locs…it's too much to be a coincidence. Someone, likely a Darkfriend, is after you, after a village girl. For no apparent reason. I have a hunch."

Mordi shifted uncomfortably. "What's that? What's your hunch?"

"Years ago, I read an interesting scroll. It was hidden beneath a pile of obscure, pointless recordings in the Library; I'd wager it hadn't been read in years. The scroll told of the legend of Ratiosu'Ratiasu. You know, no doubt, of the 15 Ryugin?"

Mordi nodded. The legend of the Ryugin was told to most youngsters; up until now, she had thought of it as only a story. After the Locs, though, she thought to keep an open mind.

"According to legend," Kash went on, "there were 15 Ryugin, one for each element: Serebii, Magutu, Isai, Ryugia, Hou'ou, Aitucu, Flareth, Zaithos, Shukun, Kourai, Kortei, Kairo, Subil, Skarmor, and Bauglir. While most stories differ in the way it occurred, all agree that Bauglir turned from the Light to serve the Shadow. Over the years a war was fought, and upon the last day of the Age of Song, as the War of Power was being fought against Morgoth Shai'tan, the Dark One, Kortei threw Bauglir into Shayol Ghul, and he was destroyed. The Ryugin fled this world, as the rebound from Bauglir's destruction and the resealing of the Dark One in his prison spread outward, Breaking the World. However, one source above all others states differently: that, indeed, Bauglir was overthrown, but only imprisoned, and that the Ryugin did not flee this world. They collapsed into themselves, falling into a deep sleep, one that could not be roused…unless…"

Mordi, who had been listening intently, asked, "Unless what?", the words slipping before she could control herself.

Smiling, Kash continued, "Unless the Aethonon Prophecies are fulfilled. That was precisely what was in the scroll I read."

"One part of the Prophecies tell of the opening of Bauglir's prison at Shayol Ghul, and how the Dragonborn will rise with the Child of the Elite to fight him. Most of it deals with the signs of the Dragonborn's coming, and most is too obscure to puzzle out. But there was one part that told of the first sign, in a clearer manner. Back before the Age of Song, after Bauglir's treachery was first realized, a great temple was built deep beneath the earth: Ratiosu'Ratiasu, the home of the Tear of the Stone, and the two Great Guardians. The Prophecies said that when the true Child and the Dragonborn unite the Tear and the Ring of Shukun, the Great Guardians Ratiosu and Ratiasu would come forth to aid in the battle against the Last Shadow. No records tell of what the Tear looks like, but a footnote of a footnote told of the Ring. It would be made of pure-silver, with a phrase engraved in letters of Air and Water on it:

"'Hau un ash olon esk she yu Adhaneth, hau un ash ailan esk she yu Scathashorn. Hau griu nol katan esk halag nolgi ath gordh, hau griu nol asu esk halag nolgi ath ethisorn.'"

"In the Common speech, it goes as follows:

"'Let no one hold me but the Chosen, let no one wear me but the Dragonborn. Let they who unite me think only of need, let they who use me think only of salvation.'"

Mordi pulled at the cord around her neck, fingering the ring. Peering at it, she offhandedly said, "I don't see any markings on it. It's smooth."

"We will see, in Eriador," Kash said. 'For now, we'll-"

A knock came at the door.

A/N: Yeah, I know, I'm mean with all my cliffies. Well, it would have sounded strange if I cut it anywhere else, and the next chapter has to have some meat to it; big things start to happen. :}